Chairman and CEO of the business aviation terminal, Quits Aviation Services Limited, Sam Iwuajoku has reacted to the insistence of the Nigeria Customs Services that private jets operating in Nigeria must pay Customs duties and explained that aircraft registered outside Nigeria cannot pay customs duty.
Iwuajoku who spoke exclusively to THISDAY expressed surprise at the action of the Nigeria Customs Service, saying that it ought to know that aircraft registered outside Nigeria does not operate permanently in the country and therefore ought not to pay Customs duty.
Iwuajoku who operates the Quits Aviation Services Free Trade Zone spoke in response to the threat issued by the Nigeria Customs Service to impound 29 private jets which owners did not pay statutory import duties to the federal government.
Customs threatened that the 29 private jets would be impounded if the owners did not show up at the expiration of 14 days ultimatum it has given.
Customs also explained that within the stipulated period of verification, 86 private jets or airplane operators showed up for the exercise and presented relevant documents for verification and that 57 of them were verified as commercial charter operators and were duly cleared for operations, but 29 private jets/airplanes owners and or their representatives were issued with demand notices on Oct. 11 and were given 14 days to make payments to designated federal government accounts and they would be issued Aircraft Clearance Certificates after payment.
Speaking to THISDAY, however, Iwuajoku said that the Nigeria Customs Service ought to understand that it has no right to ask duty payment from foreign registered aircraft because those aircraft are not owned by Nigerians but leased.
“Customs is right if you have Nigerian registered aircraft with 5N and before you register you must pay customs duty and I think this is where government is getting it wrong. They should understand the situation well before they act,” Iwuajoku advised.
He also warned that Customs should not drive out investors with its insistence that private jets should pay customs duty because Nigeria is benefiting from their operations in the country.
“The amount of money these aircraft make for Nigerian government is more than the cost of registration. They pay for their services in dollars, including landing and parking. All the services they pay for they do so in dollars and government agencies are benefiting so Customs should look at the larger picture. Even if the money is not going to Customs, other government agencies are getting the money. The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is paid by these operators in dollars,” Iwuajoke said.
THISDAY
